Bailey blitz crushes Blaenau

14 January 2014 11:16am

By Graeme Gillespie

Caernarfon Ladies got off to a flying start in the eight match series of Cup games which will determine the semi-final placings for both the Cup and Plate competitions, with a comfortable 66-0 victory over Blaenau Gwent.

Blaenau Gwent to their credit honoured the fixture despite not being able to field a full side and for the first 10 minutes were by far the most threatening side, being camped close to the Cofi try line.

Unfortunately they failed to find the killer touch and were left to rue the missed opportunities as one break by flanker Nia Tomos took play up field and she had the wisdom to pass to speedster Lauren Hassett who duly scored under the posts. Minutes later scrum half Jess Kavanagh opted to take a quick tap and had the pace to out sprint all the cover to score from way out.

Kavanagh was soon back on the score sheet as she hacked up field and was able to control and ground despite the sterling effort of Nikki Gardner who although injured in the attempt played on gallantly till the end.

A charge by Caryl Hughes and Emma Edwards resulted in a melee that saw Kavanagh emerge once again to sprint clear and score and later her downfield chip resulted in the attempted clearance being collected by wing Lowri Wynn who added another five pointer. Another feature of the first half was the five successful conversions, courtesy of standoff Sera Bailey.

The second period afforded no respite for Blaenau Gwent as from the kick off a spilt ball and quick release saw Hassett hit the line at pace to score. Blaenau Gwent's Vicky Jennings and Christie Thompson tried to rally the girls for one last effort and found no one wanting and as a result they were able to stem the tide for the best part of 15minutes.

For Caernarfon it was pleasing to see Kirsty Holdsworth make her first team debut and leave the field with a wide smile at the end.

It took an excellent break and good hands from Kavanagh who fed Bailey to finally break their second half resistance. Later it was pleasing to see second row Sarah Williams pirouette to release herself from her tackler and charge 40 meters to score.

Lowri Wynn followed by charging to within a whisker of the line and the lengthy pass that followed granted Bailey her second try.

A charge by Elin Evans and Elin Royle left Bailey to pick up the loose ball and complete her third touchdown. In addition with three from five conversions in the second half Bailey had contributed 31 points in total.

Caernarfon travel to Pencoed next week whilst Blaenau Gwent will be a far sterner outfit, when with a full complement, on their own patch.

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